FINDING HIS GROOVE: Jets defenceman Byfuglien building on last season

And while much of the focus leading up to the Global Series games with the Florida Panthers have focused on Finnish stars Patrik Laine and Aleksander Barkov, Byfuglien might have a few more members in his fan club following the next few days.

Since hockey fans here don’t get to see the NHL game up close and personal very often, the chance to see a physical force of nature like Byfuglien is pretty rare.

“My prime time of watching hockey was when (Byfuglien) was with the Chicago Blackhawks and watching him dominate that playoff run (in 2010) and be on another level,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, asked to recall his memories of Byfuglien before attending his first Jets training camp in the fall 2013. “Physically, scoring goals and everything. He was an exciting player to watch, so I had a lot of expectation coming in and he’s lived up to that. Obviously, everyone sees his skill and his size.

“For me, coming out of junior, you see big players but not that big. I was always marvelling at the way that he moved and the way he moved the puck at that size. I was happy that I got drafted by Winnipeg when I saw him skating around.”

With two goals and seven points through 10 games (he missed two with an upper-body injury, Byfuglien has been chipping in offensively.

But how is Byfuglien feeling about his overall game?

“It’s been OK. At points, there have been ups-and-downs,” said Byfuglien. “For the most part, it’s been getting back to how the team plays. Everyone plays better as the team goes. The last few games, as a group we’ve gotten better and my game has picked up a little better.”

Last season, it took Byfuglien 30 games to score his first goal of the season.

Although he said all the right things when asked about the drought, you could tell it was wearing on him a bit.

By scoring earlier this season, that hasn’t been an issue this time around.

“It makes it a little easier on myself. You don’t have to be so hard on yourself,” said Byfuglien, who is his harshest critic. “You just go out there and play hockey and know that you’re going to get the opportunities and eventually, it goes in.”

His combination of skill and brute force are tough for an opponent to contain.

There is still an unbridled quality that Byfuglien brings to the ice, an air of unpredictability and an urge to occasionally colour outside the lines.

That’s what artists do and Byfuglien is no different.

The opposition must pay attention when Byfuglien is on the ice, but so do his teammates, since he occasionally has a tendency to roam on the ice.

“There are times that you’re out there and it’s nice to know that you’re out there with him,” said Jets centre Bryan Little, a longtime teammate dating back to the 2010-11 season in Atlanta. “You want him to play his game and be aggressive and join the rush, but you also have to be aware of it. When he’s up there and doing his thing, someone has to cover for him. You have to be careful that four guys aren’t going to get caught.

“There are not many hockey players around that are like him, as far as personality and the type of player he is. We need him to be himself out there and be a big-time player for us. Everyone is pretty happy with the way he’s playing right now.”

When it comes to the risk/reward element of his game, Byfuglien took great strides last season, at times sacrificing his offensive production in order to focus on his defensive responsibilities and limit his pinches.

“He’s a 25- to 30-minute guy, so he has a huge impact on us,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “He made a lot of adjustments and his points started to come, and then they started to come in the playoffs when he when he was at his best.

“I think he’s quite a bit ahead of where he where he was last year at this time, and then like our hockey team – we don’t expect to look like we did in the playoffs because nobody does – we think there’s room to get better. But calendar year to calendar year, he’s made huge adjustments in his game for the betterment of our team.”

While Byfuglien is ahead of the pace when it comes to the offensive side of his game this season, it’s fair to say there is room to tighten up a few things defensively.

But overall, Byfuglien has been earning his bump in ice time of late and continues to be an impact player for the Jets – which is exactly what they need him to be.

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